Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Phineas and Ferb just might be the two most inventive kids in the history of childhood. For them, repairing time machines and building amazing roller coasters are all in a day's work, and it's this propensity for invention, as well as the unpredictable adventures that go along with it, that makes their cartoon fun to watch. Unfortunately, that inventive spirit is sorely lacking in Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension. This platformer for kids recycles the same few standard elements with exasperating frequency, making this interdimensional trek an uncharacteristically tedious adventure for the intrepid duo.

Phineas, Ferb and their pet platypus Perry (AKA Agent P) have been stranded in an alternate dimension by a more sinister version of Dr. Doofenshmirtz than the one who resides in their home dimension. The three must now make their way from one dimension to another and collect batteries to power up their pocket otherdimensionator so that they can get home. Unfortunately, Across the 2nd Dimension just sets up the story briefly at the beginning and then spends little time developing it. Almost none of the clever writing that the cartoon is known for is present here. Phineas, Ferb, and the rest of the crew are interesting and likable characters, but you wouldn't know that from playing this game.

The characters here are short on personality, but at least the visuals pick up some of the slack. You travel through five dimensions, each of which has its own distinct look. The sand-colored platforms and ancient Egyptian environmental details of one dimension sharply contrast the moody purples and vibrant pinks of the surreal musical realm that follows. You also travel through a spooky dimension in which you hop across the tops of floating skulls and avoid being crushed by massive gravestones, and a cheery mechanized wonderland of toys, where platforms are rotated on Ferris wheels and huge googly-eyed clown faces send giant snowballs rolling out into the world.

Unfortunately, this visual variety isn't matched by the gameplay. Instead, Across the 2nd Dimension runs out of ideas fast and then repeats the same few situations and minigames so frequently that playing it quickly starts to feel like you're playing the same short game over and over and over. You can switch among Phineas, Ferb, and Agent P at any time with a tap of the touch screen. You frequently need to do so to take advantage of a character's special abilities. For instance, only Phineas and his baseball launcher can trigger distant switches; Ferb's electricity ray is necessary for powering certain platforms and stunning certain robots; and Agent P can use his butt-stomp to press buttons and his grappling hook to yank shields from enemies. There's never any confusion about which character to use to overcome a given obstacle; when you're near something that requires a specific character's skills, he gives a polite little wave on the touch screen.

But this range of abilities fails to infuse the game with any sense of variety. As these three characters, you make easy leaps across platforms and are frequently stopped in enclosed areas where you must defeat a number of easy enemies before you can proceed. It's all basic to the point of tedium, and it never evolves. Getting trapped in an enclosed area and shooting a bunch of robots with Phineas' baseball launcher in the fourth dimension plays out identically to how it does in the first dimension. And the same hazards are recycled with mind-numbing frequency. For instance, as you progress through stages, you're regularly stopped when three turrets appear in the background. Before you can advance, you need to destroy those turrets, which is a simple and time-consuming matter of repeatedly shooting them. You can take cover from their fire by standing behind barriers, though even if they shoot you, the consequences are negligible, thanks to the tremendous amount of damage you can withstand and your ability to carry a number of spare health packs with you at all times. Moments like this are tolerable the first time, but the game trots them out so often that they become excruciating chores. Even young players who are diehard fans of the series are sure to find that the repetition and simplicity saps any chance for excitement from this adventure.

To make matters worse, a number of minigames crop up constantly and also never change. In one such minigame, a number of batteries and little robots fall from the top screen into a receptacle on the bottom screen, and you must tap the robots to weed them out while letting the batteries through. The objects fall so slowly that there's absolutely no challenge whatsoever, and when you encounter this minigame for the umpteenth time late in the adventure, it's every bit as slow as it was the first time. The same is true for the numerous other minigames that recur throughout the game. Rather than injecting this platformer with some much-needed variety, these minigames only reinforce the sense of repetition and tedium that permeates the entire game.

The only brief respite from that tedium can be found in one stage in each of the game's first four dimensions. These stages are each unique; one sees you steering a chariot, crashing into enemies to collect batteries and leaping over obstacles in the road. Another is a side-scrolling shooter. These levels aren't great by any stretch, but the gameplay that makes up all of the other stages in the game gets so tiresome that any brief change of pace is welcome. These four stages also make up the game's multiplayer component, which is accessible via download play and supports up to four players. It's a thoroughly unsatisfying option, though. You play through the selected stage separately from your competitors, and at the end, you see who collected the most batteries. That's all there is to it.

Reaching the end of this adventure takes about five hours or so, but it feels a lot longer. Collectibles and optional objectives attempt to offer some incentive to return to these bizarre dimensions, but the crushing repetition and complete lack of challenge mean that just finishing each area once is way more than enough. Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension is an uninspired game that doesn't do its inventive heroes justice by a long shot.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Ben 10 returns in the new Cartoon Network series Alien Force. Play as Gwen and Kevin in level segments designed around their special abilities. Fight enemies from the show including Forever Knights, Xenocities, DNAliens and Highbreed. And we couldn\'t do it without the five playable aliens Big Chill, Swampfire, Humungousaur, Jet Ray and Spidermonkey!

SPECIFICATIONS

ESRB Rating: E for Everyone

Authentically Step Into The 'Alien Force' World - Play the only video game that allows you to command members of the 'Alien Force' team; investigate ever-before-seen locations, enemies and characters, and explore favorite places from the best show episodes

Multiple Playable Characters with Special Superpowers - Take control of Ben and his new alien forms Swampfire, Jet Ray, Humungousaur, Spidermonkey and Big Chill to manipulate fire, swim underwater, grow more than 60 feet tall, stick to walls, fly at mach speed, plus lots more

Harness Gwen's talent to create an energy shield to protect and attack, and use Kevin Levin's ability to absorb materials to create impenetrable body armor

Adventure as alien forms Echo Echo, Chromastone and Goop exclusively in the Nintendo DS version

Solid and Robust Gameplay - Explore action-packed levels and secret sections in arcade-style gameplay as you clash with more than 20 types of enemies; use more than 75 attack options and create unlimited attack chaining with the streamlined combo system

Based On a Successful Television Franchise - As one of Cartoon Network's breakout original franchises, the Ben 10: Alien Force television series is in its first season as a top-rated show, and is the next generation continuation of the phenomenally successful and Emmy-winning Ben 10 original series

A long form television movie based on Ben 10: Alien Force will debut on Cartoon Network in fall 2008

Exceptional Level of Authenticity - The game's art style, sound effects and music are 100% authentic, with all audio in the game pulled directly from the show sound vaults and all voice acting provided by the original television cast

The Smurfs DS game has tons of fun mini-games and read-along stories about the Smurfs as they prepare for their festival in their village and are disrupted by Gargamel.

In the Smurfs DS/DSi you get to play a series of fun and educational mini-games and read-along stories about the Smurfs as they prepare for the Blue Moon festival in their village. The Smurfs game and story is based on Sony & Columbia Pictures' upcoming hybrid live-action/CGI blockbuster movie releasing July 29, 2011.

The Smurfs Gameplay

Hi Every one, I not have time to test it. Please leave a comment let everyone know if the game nice to play.

The Smurfs

The Smurfs

The Smurfs

With its release in September of 2002, Mega Man Zero brought about a new era of classic Capcom sidescrollers on Nintendo handhelds. At the time, fans knew the Mega Man franchise only as its evolved form, taking shape as an action role-playing game by the name of Mega Man Battle Network. While the series was an accepted design morph from the original style of the license, the Battle Network series couldn't (and didn't attempt to) offer the same "guns blazing" action that fans fell in love with on the NES, and later on the Super Nintendo. With Mega Man Zero hitting the system, however, the franchise was once again reborn, as the gameplay (centered around the legendary Zero hunter) was extremely reminiscent of the X series so many years before it. Now, much like Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, Mega Man is again making a system leap to the innovative DS hardware, as Mega Man ZX is born.

Anyone already used to the classic Mega Man X or Mega Man Zero franchises from both Super NES and GBA will feel right at home when jumping into ZX. As the next step in sidescrolling evolution, ZX puts players in the role of a young Maverick hunter that is, for the first time ever, human. Using a newfound technology, the world has allowed humans to equip artificial intelligence based on legendary Maverick hunters simply by acquiring the essence of that model, known as a biometal. With the aid of biometals, any "accepted" human can work with the model in tandem, using it as a mechanical suit capable of doing battle with even the most powerful Maverick robots. The main story follows either a male or female lead who, quite unexpectedly, has been recruited to help fend off robots (or "reploids") from the once peaceful world of Neo Arcadia. With the help of the legendary X and Zero models, the protagonist must embark on a quest to regain (and combine) the powers of other legendary X models in hopes to once again restore peace to the land. Same old story, all new gameplay.

Since Mega Man ZX is the next evolution of the Mega Man Zero franchise, a necessary gameplay twist has been added. Rather than simply controlling a single Mega Man unit and acquiring powers, players will actually gain new biometals, allowing them to transform into more than five totally unique X units at any time. More information on these models can be found in our Model Profile. Each model is based around the classic X robot, with added functionality such as air dashing, water dashing, radar abilities, or steer-able bullets. Since this is the first opportunity to combine X with multiple other hunters, the gameplay twist will take some getting used to, as players will need to use each X model depending on the situation. Even still, we're very pleased with how diverse each of the characters are, and have found a ton of success when using each Mega Man unit as part of a team.

When it comes to the overall presentation of the game, however, Mega Man ZX is a bit lacking, and feels like it may have been a GBA game up-converted to DS (though the visual style has seen a significant boost, and there are a few basic touch-enabled functions). All of the action takes place on the top screen, with the bottom screen used for any model-specific attacks and abilities, some using touch, others using it as an additional screen only. With a few of the characters, such as model FX and HX, the bottom screen is used to tweak offensive capabilities or search areas for additional items via a mini-map. When in human form or model ZX (the evolved version of Zero), however, the bottom screen is actually left blank, showing only a blue screen with some text and logos on it. While we aren't suggesting that every model must include touch implementation or a secondary function that isn't integral to the game, something as simple as displaying the inventory or status screen on the bottom would have been nice to fill the void. The visuals and audio have received a relatively nice boost, but from strictly a presentation standpoint the game still feels like GBA 1.5 rather than a full jump to DS.

That being said, the gameplay in Mega Man ZX is as dead on as it has ever been, with the only possible setback being in the human-controlled town navigation. Since Mega Man ZX is worked around a human storyline with the X models as the means for battle, there are a few key moments when town navigation and human-to-human interaction is a necessity, and that may turn off a few less patient gamers out there. Even still, town sections are usually handled only a few minutes at a time, with the mission-based gameplay taking a definite front seat to the story, and when Mega Man ZX hits, it hits hard. Gameplay is fast, fluid, and full of fury, delivering the same larger than life boss battles and truly inspired level design as the previous games. In addition, the team included older enemies and areas from the previous Zero and X games, so players will not only be doing battle with familiar control, but also in familiar areas. For players that want to be as punished as they were with the original Mega Man Zero, a hard mode has been included. For all you newbies out there, however, the easy mode will be right up your ally, allowing virtually any level of player to get as much as possible out of the game without the need for a bubble-wrapped DS Lite. We've played version after version of Mega Man Zero, and ZX is truly the first game that we feel has a level for everyone, as the hard mode is amazingly difficult, while selecting "easy" is just that.

Oh, and did we mention the game is simply beautiful? Combining the same 2D style as previous games with a far stronger effects ensemble, Mega Man ZX has a great visual look, especially when played on the shockingly bright DS Lite screens. In addition to the expected graphical leaps of rain layers, shattering lighting, and multiple parallax backgrounds that shift with every movement, Mega Man ZX also helps increase the production value by including animated shorts to help tell the story. Unfortunately, the clips are still shown with Japanese audio and written English subtitles, but the average player won't pay it a moment's notice after the initial "huh?" factor. The animation both in-video and out is crisp and visually filling, and the environments are as inspired as the original Mega Man X levels. The audio delivery is just as crisp and reminiscent to its predecessors as the GBA versions, and still has the sound production necessary to take players back to that first level on Super NES. A few audio samples were included in the mix as well, though the bulk of the voice acting will be found in the animated shorts (which, as we added, are in Japanese).

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Dragon Quest IX is a fantasy role-playing game. The game starts off with you playing as a Celestrian. A Celestrian is similar to an angel. You cannot be seen by humans and your job is to watch over the citizens of a town. Whenever you help a human, they give you their benevolence. You take the benevolence to the world tree, Yggdrasil, so that it can bear fruit. Once the world tree bears fruit, the Celestrians believe that they will be taken to a world beyond their own. After bringing enough benevolence to Yggdrasil the tree lights up, and something goes terribly wrong.

Controls
The controls for this game are really easy to learn. They are very basic and allow anyone to play the game. When you're not in a battle the controls are different from that of a battle.

Gameplay
Dragon Quest IX is great in terms of gameplay. There is never too much happening on screen for it to get confusing. The gameplay is very smooth and there is never any problems with frames. Your character is customizable in the beginning of the game. You can pick your hairstyle and your face. The game has two different play styles, one for exploration and another for battle. When exploring the world, the view is in third person and you can move freely through the wilderness, caves, and towns. When battling an enemy, you are locked in a position standing across the enemy. You are given some actions that you can use and throughout the game as you level up, you learn various attacks and techniques. You also get new friends along the way to help you in your battles. One of the most spectacular aspects of the game is the equipment. Everything you equip shows on your character. No item is the exact same. From the Leather Armour to the Scale Armour, nothing is the same.

Difficulty
The game isn't very difficult to play. It is however strategic at higher levels. Don't be fooled by the beginning enemies which are simple slimes. They get a lot tougher as you progress through the game. You will fight opponents who alter your status and you must be ready to counter attack at all times. Bosses can be especially tricky. They have a lot of health points and also deal a large amount of damage to you.

Length
As most role-playing games, it is pretty lengthy. You can spend a lot of time leveling up just to prepare yourself for the next boss. The story, however, is what makes you want to keep going. You get really into the story and simply can't wait to see what happens next. What would be the point of a role-playing game if it wasn't long anyway?

Graphics
The graphics are pretty good compared to other role-playing games. The game also has some cinematics which look amazing. The world itself is pretty big and not extremely detailed, but it definitely looks good. Even though some of the monsters look somewhat awkward, they are very smooth and never twitch.

Sound
The sound effects in the game are excellent and the music is fabulous. The music never gets boring and the battle themes make you want to keep on fighting enemies.

Saving
Dragon Quest IX gives you two options for saving. The first is by going to a church in a town and talking to the priest and confess your sins. Your progress will be completely saved. The second method is Quick Save. It's the last option under the Misc. heading in the menu. It lets you save directly in spot. However, once you turn the game on again, that save point will be deleted. It's good if you need to take a break, but it is highly recommended to go to a priest in town.

Replayability
The game isn't very replayable due to the fact that it's pretty long. It takes you a while to get where you are and you wouldn't want to go through it over again. Besides, if you want to make a new save, you'll have to say goodbye to your old save.

Overall Summary
The game is excellent overall. It has a lot to offer any player. It is enjoyable to play, has great music, and an amazing storyline. This is a definite buy for any fan of good storylines or role-playing games.

We'll just come out and say it: Professor Layton and the Unwound Future is the best game in the series to date. That's not to say it's leaps and bounds better than its predecessors, because in all regards it's remarkably similar. The improvements here are subtle, and rightly so, as we wouldn't want it to deviate from the tried-and-true Professor Layton formula. Most importantly, the puzzles are as clever and engaging as ever, and it presents easily the best story of the trilogy.

Like the first two entries in the series, the gameplay focuses on a string of standalone brainteaser-style puzzles that you encounter as you move from place to place, talk to people, and tap around with stylus to explore the environment. Puzzles range from logic puzzles, spatial puzzles, word puzzles, number puzzles, sliding block puzzles and tons and tons more. If you typically like the kind of brainteasers that require careful thinking without relying on specialized knowledge like higher math or trivia, you'll love the variety of puzzles in every Layton game, including this one.

The story begins with Layton and his protégé Luke attending a time machine demonstration in London that goes horribly awry, and a titillating mystery ensues in the form of a letter to the professor allegedly written by Luke – from 10 years in the future. Most shocking of all is that apparently in future Luke's world, our gentlemanly Professor Hershel Layton is now an evil crime lord who rules a semi-dystopian London with an iron fist and an army of goons. But is everything as it seems? Is time travel really possible? More so than the first two games, Unwound Future is in the spirit of a classic detective mystery, and as Layton uncovers each new clue the mystery just gets more intriguing.

Unwound Future does offer a few new additions too, including three new minigames. Like the mechanical dog and hamster in the first two games, you now have three side games to complete: a picture book where you collect stickers of objects to fill in the gaps in the story, a toy car with complex track-based puzzles, and a parrot with puzzles where you help him navigate through a course from point A to point B. Of the three the toy car is easily the most challenging (some of the track solutions are incredibly difficult to figure out), and the parrot game is a fun diversion (way better than the tea making game in PL2), but the picture book game is a bit dull and easy, and feels like merely a means to an end, since completing each game unlocks bonus content.

Aside from the minigames, the only real addition to the main game is the new "superhint" option in each puzzle. If you've spent a hint coin on each of the three regular hints and you're still stumped on a puzzle, you can spent two coins to unlock a superhint that in most cases basically tells you how to solve the puzzle. We didn't use it often, but it was a welcome option in a few cases, and it’s way less icky feeling than looking up a cheat online. And as usual, you can find hint coins hidden everywhere by tapping around the scenery with the stylus.

While it's totally not necessary to play the first two Layton games (Curious Village and Diabolical Box) to play Unwound Future, Layton fans who played the first two will get more enjoyment out of the story. Now that the characters of Layton and Luke have been established in the first two entries, this is the first game in the series to feature a story that's actually character driven and plays off the background of Layton himself. Unwound Future even indulges in some awesome inside jokes, like a running gag about how we never see Layton without his hat – at one point during a cutscene cinema the camera even cuts away right as he's about to take it off. And speaking of cinemas, the cutscenes and hand-drawn art are as beautiful as ever, and there's way more art and voiceover than before.

For those who enjoyed the first two Layton games, Professor Layton and the Unwound Future is a must-have, period. And if you haven't played a Layton game yet, what are you waiting for? This is easily one of the strongest series on DS in every regard, from the brilliantly crafted puzzles to the exquisite art. If you are interested in the series, we recommend starting from the beginning though. You'll be glad you did.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

MEGA MAN STAR FORCE 2: ZERKER X SAURIAN

Mega Man Star Force™ returns, delivering totally upgraded and cutting-edge online communication and device customization technologies through a portable RPG adventure that is brought to life in the iconic, action-driven Mega Man way!

Mega Man Star Force™ 2 is available in two versions, Zerker X Ninja and Zerker X Saurian with players able to choose between Zerker, Ninja, or Saurian depending on which version they choose.

Developed by the team behind the popular MegaMan Battle Network™ series, Mega Man Star Force™ 2 continues two months after the previous game left off. Geo Stelar and crew return to battle a whole host of UMA’s (unidentified animated beings) and a new rival character appears named “Rogue.” Amidst this new conflict, a mysterious organization emerges with plans to revive the ancient civilization of “Mu” by utilizing the force of an ancient heritage “OOPArt.” It’s up to Geo and his virus-busting buddy, Omega-Xis, to thwart this latest threat.

Mega Man Star Force™ 2 blends a unique formula of RPG exploration elements with fast-paced action, as players travel and battle between coexisting worlds, the physical world and the virtual Wave World, to unravel the mystery around this new troublemaker. Players will encounter enemies in the virtual Wave World and battle them on three-by-five battle grids with their Battle Card deck. Mega Man Star Force™ 2 also adds an upgraded “Transer” system.

* Two co-existing worlds – explore the real world in human form and transform into Mega Man to maneuver through the virtual “Wave World”

* Each game version offers a unique powered-up transformation of Mega Man based on the respective elemental powers and can unleash spectacular special attacks.

* The Zerker Tribe, available on both versions, was an ancient warrior clan that lived by the sword and gives Mega Man the power of Thunder

* The Ninja Tribe ruled the ancient world with their swift and fearsome abilities. Joining them will transform Mega Man into the Wood Ninja with deadly throwing stars.

* The Saurian Tribe harnessed the power of fire to transform Mega Man into the fierce Fire Saurian, roasting enemies with the powerful Dino Cannon.

* Combinations of the different Tribes result in additional powers. Combine Zerker, Ninja, and Saurian tribes to unlock new abilities. Connecting with your friends allows you to trade abilities and combine all three tribes to become the ultimate warrior: Tribe King Mega Man

* Each character has their own customizable Personal Page in the game where Battle Cards and information can be viewed and traded with friends to compare progress

* Nintendo Wi-Fi connection or the Wireless LAN allows players to connect with in-game friends regardless of their location, add new friends to their network to create a “Brother Band” network, where they can share cards, status upgrades, and even help each other to perform, upgraded transformations.

The DS version of Kung Fu Panda 2 is vastly different from its console counterparts. Rather than being a standard third-person action game, it's a turn-based RPG with an interesting mini-game thrown into the mix. Unfortunately, it's marred by gameplay that's so unbalanced, it becomes boring.

Kung Fu Panda 2's story is set after that of the film. Po and the rest of the Furious Five find themselves troubled by wolves, gorillas, and komodo dragons. With the help of the Kung Fu masters, Po has to uncover the plot behind this siege and put a stop to it. The story is just OK, but it does fit nicely into the larger Kung Fu Panda universe, with the characters behaving true to their big screen counterparts. However, tapping through lots of screens of dialogue got old pretty fast.

In Kung Fu Panda 2, your party consists of two characters: Po and one of the other Furious Five. Each character has unique attacks and skills that require differing amounts of Chi (think mana) to perform. There's a rock-paper-scissors element where each attack and enemy has a different color and paying attention to the two means you can deal more damage. There's nothing inherently wrong with this combat system, but it fails to be engaging because of two flaws.

The first is that both of your characters always get the chance to carry out an attack first, regardless of enemy. The second is that there are special attacks you learn by doing one of the side quests that are so powerful they take out all of your enemies. And since your Chi refills completely between each battle, you can pull it off on your first turn every single time. After unlocking this attack fairly early on in the game, 99 percent of the subsequent battles involved me winning before my opponent even had a chance to take a turn. In the other one percent, my opponents' health was so low that they were easily dispatched on my next turn. Because of this, I only needed to use an item a couple times to refill my health, and I never needed to stop by one of the shops to buy more, so I kept collecting coins by winning with nothing to spend them on.

Graphically, Kung Fu Panda 2 isn't terrible, but it's not fantastic either. The characters are rendered in 3D, and you can watch the battle play out on the top screen as you select your attacks. I was disappointed to see that most of the attacks looked basically the same even though their names gave the impression of something different.

Even with this flawed core gameplay, Kung Fu Panda 2 is partially redeemed by a fun and addicting card mini-game called Five Card Fu. You have a deck of cards, of which you can select five to use for each game. Each card has a number from one to nine on each of its sides. You play cards on a 3x3 grid, with the goal being to capture the other players' cards by using a matching or greater number against theirs. It's a simple concept, but can actually be quite challenging. You find better cards as you play through the story mode and complete side missions. Five Card Fu can be played locally against someone else who also has a copy of the game.

Sunday, August 14, 2011

To nobody’s surprise, Captain America—the world’s first avenger—has a tie-in game on every console associated with the blockbuster movie that just hit the big screens. Is it time to don the blue suit and take on the evil forces of Hydra?

Captain America: Super Soldier acts as a side story to the main movie. Instead of directly going after Red Skull, you’re going after his minions and underlings. It’s a good move on the developer’s part, as nowadays movie tie-in games seem to focus more on their own story, rather than the short one the movie is conveying. It works for the most part, as dialogue scenes are voiced, and it generally helps to get to know the Captain a bit more during his heroic adventures in the 1940’s.

Much like Thor on the DS, Captain America is a 2D side-scroller/platformer that has you moving at a steady pace from room to room. Instead of an entirely open level, each part of the level is sectioned off into smaller rooms that usually requires the Cap to dispatch all of the enemies and use his shield in some form to solve an environmental puzzle. The platforming is fairly decent as far as scaling the level goes, but be prepared to suffer some unfair deaths jumping over gaps.

The enemies, however, are what make this experience feel cheap and unfair, and bring the overall experience to a frustrating halt. As Captain America, you’re expected to kick all kinds of ass, yet these enemies jump on the screen, surround the Cap, and juggle you between their punches leaving you almost entirely defenseless. It’s one thing when a game is challenging, but another when you’re being unfairly tossed around between enemies, only to see your health bar quickly deplete.

Throughout each level, there are various medals to find, dossiers to pick up, hostages to free, and vials to acquire. Finding these requires a bit of searching, but the payoff is usually worth it, as the vials raise your health, and freeing hostages unlocks some sweet, new costumes for the Cap.

To break up some monotony—though not by much—there are running segments that play much like the addicting Canabalt app. You’re constantly being thrust forward, dodging gaps, jumping over obstacles, kicking down enemies, and collecting medals. It’s a fun diversion, but the odd jump mechanics, mixed in with the delayed kick attacks, will cost you many frustrating retries.

The overall aesthetics of the game are somewhat muddled, which at this point is almost inexcusable. Many games have proved by now that they can look great, despite the systems limitations, yet Captain America seems to be going for the bare minimum.

Captain America on the DS isn’t your top notch, go-to, superhero game that many Cap fans were hoping for; the cheap enemies will make you want to throw your DS across the room. Spare yourself the frustration, and buy another Captain America movie ticket instead.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Airport Mania First Flight is another set of games of fast-paced action, but this time you\re in the seat of an air traffic controller.This time it is flights at risk, so you better have your brain well in gear and your clicking finger to the ready.

Be seen in every level in the Flight Airport Mania d bird of a track, and your goal is a successful air traffic controller, so that effective means of landing, loading, fueling, and everything in Central.Like all games that offer one, the only place to start is the tutorial.This tutorial is a light and allows you to become familiar with the structure of the game without falling straight down at the end.

One of the main differences between this game and others like it is the ability to gain combos.
The higher, the more money you get your seat combo.
Remember though do the job effectively before you do it quickly, never the other way around.
In this game the plans are in color and this helps their doors direct.
If you have two purple planes on the ground and only one purple gate, then you can store the other purple plane in the waiting area, this will delay the rate at which it becomes unhappy.
Remember, it's not just the passengers that the aircraft not to get angry! If you get in the game, you will see four goals, progress through the levels is necessary to achieve the target to a minimum base.

On top of the basic target you have the expert, master and supreme targets, the higher you get the more money you earn.

Just as an airport there are a variety of levels, some are content to remain on the floor for a long time, others are eager extremely fast, it is essential that if you score high you can achieve quickly with the sullen air handling that.

Of course with all games in this genre, you can upgrade specific items.
One of the most important speeches at the airport mania will bring more areas pending.
This might not look imperative at the level you are on but you have to think ahead.
If a stage is completed, all your updates will disappear, however, are made differently than your updates to take your money, so that if you find that you may be able to the next level, without an update complete and then do not get reasons to keep your money in the bank, and you'll have an easier task at a later date.

Like many of the other time management games, you will find that you do not get bored in a hurry, and this is always an exceptional quality for games to have.
There are a lot of points that I have not even begun to be explored in this article are just some of the key points that will help you on the way.

The only way to become an expert at a game like this is practice, so what are you waiting for?

Monday, May 2, 2011

Dragon Quest has really found a new home on the DS. DQ IX surprised us all by moving onto a handheld system, and last year's Rocket Slime paved the way for it. Now Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker is the third reason for RPG fans to get a DS (Ok, chronologically it's the second reason). The game takes the monster battles, which first appeared way the heck back in DQ V, expands them, adds some Pokemon related gameplay elements and creates a fun game that steals all our free time.

You'll travel around several islands in the Green Bay, collect and battle monsters from the Dragon Quest world, breed them to create more powerful monsters and attempt to win the Monster Scout Challenge. Yes, it sounds like Pokemon, but remember Dragon Quest has a long history of monster battling of its own. It's tough to say where DQ ideas end and Pokemon begins. To be honest, we don't really care because the game is every bit as addicting as smaller-scale monster battles in DQ VIII and now it's been expanded into a full-sized game.

You start with a weak monster and begin by fighting other monsters to power-up. Along with fighting, you can scout other monsters to entice them to join your team. The chances of successfully scouting depend on the attack power of your monster team. If your guys are strong enough, the prospective teammate will have a good chance of being super-impressed by your awesome fighting skills and join up. If you aren't strong enough the monster will probably just get pissed-off. It turns out that the hallway-blocking green dragon we were fighting didn't really want to team up with a dinky Mischievous Mole until we had leveled him up and transformed him into a Hammer Hood - he's much cooler than a mole.

As your creatures gain levels they accumulate skill points which can be assigned to skill sets. The sets you put points into determine what spells, attribute bonuses and abilities your little dudes will learn. You won't win the Monster Scout Challenge without careful planning where to place each skill point you earn. Oh, and you'll also need to collect your own army of creatures.

Before long you'll have your own team of three monsters and three more that you can swap in if one of your guys needs to come out - for example, he could be dead. After exploring a few of the islands you'll collect enough monsters to start your own petting zoo, but most of your horde will have to wait in storage until you decide to do something with them. That's where the fun part of monster management comes in; to get the best monsters you'll need to find a positively charged monster and a negatively charged monster and put them together to "synthesize." Boom chicka bow-wow.

The Series creator, Yuji Horii, told us the game is going for an audience a bit older than most Pokemon players, so we figure it's ok that the game talks so openly about how synthesis works. Incidentally, the process also destroys your first two monsters, but their traits can be passed down to your new creation. Managing your creatures, powering them up, winning the big tournament and collecting 'em all takes a lot of time, but we like searching every corner of every island because we like being the best. That's us though. If you hate backtracking, looking for hidden things and having to spend some serious time building and rebuilding your elite fighting team of cute little critters, you may want to look elsewhere for fun.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Contra 4 is awesome. And it is awesome in exactly the same ways as the classic games that bear the crest of Contra. Contra 4 is also mean. And it is mean in exactly the same ways as its forebears. That's perhaps a longwinded way to say, "Contra 4 is totally Contra," but regardless, the point remains. From its slavish dedication and great execution of the "run to the right, shoot stuff, don't get shot" formula, to its utterly ludicrous difficulty, Contra 4 is not a game for the easily vexed, but it is one for anyone who loves a challenging shooter.

While the numerical designation of "4" might not exactly be true, Contra 4 feels like more of an honest to god sequel to the classic Contra games as anything in recent memory. Part of that is thanks to developer WayForward's apparent deep, deep love of all things Contra. If you remember the classic arcade and NES games, you'll remember a lot of what goes on here. From the reuse of notable Contra heroes Bill and Lance (or Scorpion and Mad Dog, if you prefer), to the healthy smattering of classic Contra weaponry (the machine gun, the flamethrower, the ever-popular spread gun), and the subtle (and occasionally not-so-subtle) references to levels and bosses of Contra yesteryear, Contra 4 feels like a celebration of the franchise's heyday, a return to what made the series so fantastic in the first place.

And it holds up better than you might think. The developers took few, if any, risks with the formula here, turning in a gameplay design that just feels like a souped-up, two-screened version of 16-bit-era Contra. You run to the right, occasionally run up (in a nod to the behind-the-back levels from the original Contra), and just shoot every bit of vile alien scum that crosses your path while picking up some of the baddest guns around. The level designs here are top flight in every way. There's just enough nostalgia sprinkled in to send the fans into giggle fits, but at the same time, none of this stuff feels rehashed. These levels manage to feel new and exciting, even if they are just based on an age-old formula, while the boss fights are some of the most intense action you're going to find on the DS, period.

Intensity is really the name of the game here, and it's likely that it's going to be too much for some. More than perhaps any Contra game before it, Contra 4 is hard. Almost excruciatingly so. Normal difficulty is like some kind of cruel joke. Enemies and bullets appear from every which direction, often hanging out in the exact spot you're about to jump to or the area you'd most likely run to in order to duck certain death. Keeping yourself alive is as much about memorization of enemy attack patterns as it is about any measure of quantifiable skill. You get multiple continues if you happen to run out of lives on a given stage, but once you're out of continues, you start the game anew. Granted, this isn't an especially long game, but the odds of players blowing through this thing on their first, second, or even third sittings hover somewhere around the zero mark. To be fair, the game is extremely up front about its toughness, frequently mentioning the challenges you'll face and even making it abundantly clear that easy mode doesn't include the last two levels of the game. The difficulty itself feels almost like an in-joke for the fans. While it's bound to frustrate a number of people, those who can stomach it will persevere and enjoy themselves a great deal.

Though Contra might be a relatively short game, it sure doesn't skimp on the extras. This year is Contra's 20th anniversary, and in celebration of that fact, the game comes with a ton of extra content. Granted, you can't get too much of it until you unlock the challenge mode (which you can do by beating the game on any difficulty level, including easy mode) and start beating the game's challenges. These are all stand-alone level pieces that task you with everything from surviving an enemy onslaught to getting from one end of a level to the other without the aid of a gun. Easier said than done. But once you do get a few challenges completed, you'll unlock everything from additional characters and developer interviews to playable NES versions of Contra and Super C.

The only real bummer about those unlockable titles is that they don't come with multiplayer functionality. Contra was always a better game when you had both a blue and a red guy onscreen shooting at once. Without that, these older titles lose a bit of their appeal--not all of it, of course, but some. Contra 4, fortunately, does include multiplayer for two players, and that is, in fact, awesome. The only disappointment is that it's only for multicard play--no download option.

Contra 4 might not be one of the more immediately striking DS games you'll ever see, but while the game might mostly just look like a 16-bit game on heavy doses of performance-enhancing drugs, there's a lot of eye candy to be found the deeper you go into it. Whether it's the cool-looking backgrounds or the absolutely crazy-looking bosses, at nearly every turn, there is one impressive visual moment or another. The only real bummer is that periodically, the separation between the two screens causes some issues, like bullets you can't really see popping onto whichever screen you happen to be occupying. Audio is also quite enjoyable, from the "inspired by the classics" soundtrack to the goofily fantastic voice samples from the various heroes, such as "Lock and load!" or "Let's party!"

It's possible that Contra 4 might have benefited from a few updates to the design formula and maybe a drop in the difficulty by a half-notch or so, but those quibbles aside, the fact remains that Contra 4 is great at being a Contra game. There is no pretense here about the game being anything but an intensely difficult shooter, as well as a great piece of fan service, and it delivers on that promise. Contra fans and shooter fans in general would do well to pick this one up. It's a blast.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

While character driven, scrolling shooter games like Contra got all the press back in the day, hardcore gamers knew that if you wanted more over-the-top bang for your buck, you had to go with Metal Slug. The series has been kicking for over a decade and has recently made its way onto the Nintendo Wii. Now DS players can have a little Metal Slug goodness on the go with Metal Slug 7.
War. War Never Changes.

While this is a new chapter in the franchise, the premise remains the same: One soldier against a vast army of bad guys. Unlike other versions in the series, Metal Slug 7 is truly a solo affair. There's no simultaneous co-op, but the rest of the game remains true to the series.
The well animated visuals look great on the small DS screen although it's obviously not quite as detailed as other offerings in the series. And the title is prone to slowdown when things get really hectic. The trademark humor so beloved by fans of the series is here. Yeah, it's a war game with little soldiers being blown to bits... but it's all so cute and funny.

Metal Slog
Also present is the insane difficulty. When played on easy you stand a reasonable chance of making it through the games' seven missions. On medium you're in for a real challenge. The hardest difficulty level was clearly designed to make grown men cry. And it does. As Metal Slug games go, this one is about as long as all the others. Metal Slug 7 also has several different characters to choose from, each with slightly combat strengths, so you can squeeze out a little more replay value there.
There's also an additional mode which offers the player a series of specific challenges like rescue as many P.O.W.s as you can, or avoid getting crushed by falling debris for as long as possible. These aren't nearly as interesting as the core game.

Been There. Done That.
If there's a criticism to be made here it's that, well, it's just another Metal Slug game. For fans, this is certainly a good thing. But when it's all said and done, there's nothing here you haven't experience dozens of times in the past. It's a shame they didn't go with a compilation as well. Then players would truly be getting some bang for their buck.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Killing is banal: It’s aim and fire, or some variation thereof. Undoing a murder, though—there’s some impressive sleight-of-hand. That’s the objective in Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, an idiosyncratic DS game whose hero warps time to bring victims back from the dead. It’s a low-concept adventure that doesn’t fit well into existing categories of games, yet it maintains its individuality without becoming inaccessible.
You play as Sissel, a flashy dude with the swagger of a 1980s Tom Cruise. Sissel is dead. Having lost his life and his memory moments before the game begins, he’s told by a mysterious friend in the afterlife that he has one night to rediscover who he is and why he was killed. That’s a tall order, given that he’s a corpse, but his ghost form comes with extraordinary, though limited, capabilities. Sissel can reach across short distances to inhabit the soul of inanimate objects in the game’s scenery, and once he’s inside them, he can perform “Tricks” to affect the living world—flitting inside a spotlight, say, and shining the beam in a would-be murderer’s eyes.

Even though Sissel is supposed to be solving the mystery of his own snuffed-out existence, he’s sidetracked by a noble desire to keep other people from meeting the same fate. See, another benefit of ghost-hood is that by touching a fresh corpse, Sissel can time-travel to four minutes before a person’s death. Then he uses Tricks to change the progression of events. The challenge in these four-minute panic sessions is to figure out exactly which objects to inhabit, and when to play Tricks with them, such that you alter fate enough to save a life.

Yes, that’s a lot of premise to take in, yet it’s all so intriguing that Ghost Trick doesn’t feel bogged down with setup. Ace Attorney series creator Shu Takumi concocted Ghost Trick, and it shows. The characters are flamboyant and the dialogues are hyperactive. Boldface exclamations of shock are the norm. Takumi has a talent for creating a memorable, loveable cast, although his scripts can lapse into logorrhea, and his direction allows for no filter on his self-indulgence. Does the posh detective character have to do that elaborate faux-Michael-Jackson dance every time he enters a room? Takumi seems to think so.

The mystery story is as clever as the best Professor Layton yarn, but the signature achievement is the way Ghost Trick develops its puzzle-solving challenges. Whether Sissel is saving a life or simply trying to reach the opposite side of a room, each chapter has players push the bounds of strategy, stretching Sissel’s abilities to unexpected lengths. The game’s cluttered spaces invite players to invent new functions for household objects, a celebration of creativity that’s tempered only by a touch of Alan Wake syndrome: If you don’t figure out a puzzle immediately, the game is all too eager to offer ham-fisted hints by way of expository dialogue.

Ghost Trick arrives at a pivotal moment in the DS’ life. Nintendo is set to launch the 3DS, and publishers are already rolling out the parade of rehashes—old saws like Resident Evil, Bomberman, and Super Monkey Ball, remade for yet another platform. As the cacophony of big-ticket remakes moves on to the new toy, the DS is enjoying a relative calm in which its smaller, distinctive games can shine. It’s a moment to be savored by gamers with eclectic taste. Ghost Trick is just one indication that the DS, in its twilight years, is also in its prime.